Jacob Oeck
Staff Writer
Looking for fine dining? The epitome of good food? Look no farther than the humble food cart, a staple in Sandy and yes, the food is delicious. But how did the food get here, you ask in between bites. What all goes into owning and running a food cart?
“Google it,” laughed Randy Anderson, owner of Crepes Plus, a popular food cart in Sandy.
Fortunately, he went on and explained, “You have to follow the health rules. You have to follow the state rules. You have to follow the city rules. You have to have a fire suppression system. In the city of Sandy, your food cart can’t be bigger than 20 feet, but it can be bigger than 20 feet at certain places you go.”
Anderson went on like this at length for quite some time, he could list off all kinds of rules and regulations for running a food cart by memory. The most important, not surprisingly, seemed to be health protocols.
When asked, would you recommend this as a career, Anderson had a somewhat surprising response.
“Umm. No,” he said, then he explained, “I work seven days a week. I get up every morning at four in the morning. I leave my house at 4:30 [and] I start shopping. When I get out of work, I go shopping again, there’s always things to do. I’m 65 years old and I work 70 hours a week!” For those reasons Anderson doesn’t recommend this job for just anyone, but he does love the business.
“I do [enjoy it],” Anderson said happily, “because I like people, but if you don’t like people, you don’t need to be in the food industry.”
Anderson previously owned a convenience store and pizza restaurant before Crepes Plus. If anyone knows the food industry, it’s him. If you stop by sometime and try a delicious crepe or munch on some fresh fries, strike up a conversation with Randy Anderson or his employee Wes who both happen to be some of the friendliest people you will meet. Knowing what it takes to run the business it will taste that much better.
The Pioneer Press 